"These bulls, their job every day is to go and eat, and then reproduce.
That's their job." "That's like the best job on earth."
"I mean, I have half of that job." I'm here in Cameron, Texas at 44 Farms, producers
of high-quality Black Angus seed stock. 44 Farms doesn't produce beef for
consumption, what they produce is semen and balls that are then sold to produce
Black Angus herds.
I was lucky enough to get a tour from James Burkes, the general manager who
showed me just how high-quality seed stock is brought to market.
"So tell me about the history of this place, it's been here quite a while."
"Since 1909, yeah, Bob's great-grandparents started this
production and culture in
the river bottom where we're standing, they raised cattle and also had
grew crops.
It has evolved into where we are today, which is basically a seed stock
operation where we raise the seed stock for the core group for herds
all around the world."
"We're standing in the pasture that's about, I think this pasture's 60 acres,
they got all the room in the world. If they're getting hassled by a buddy,
they can walk 30 acres away, like they're these guys over here.
They're getting a little salty on over there, didn't want to play.
There's one laying there, relaxing and kicking back."
"There's no difference in the way these guys are raised and the way they were
raised back in the trailhead days."
"You said that has something to do with not stressing the animals, can you talk about that?"
"Stress is everything in today's world. The non-stressed animal is going to eat
better." "But you're also not pumping them full of chemicals, no antibiotics..."
"No! No antibiotics, they don't get any implants,
if they have to be treated with an antibiotic, then that tag is marked, and he's out of
the program."
"It won't end up in one of these restaurants and stuff that we sell our all
natural products to. Well heck let's go
continue with the tour with a look around some more."
"I've heard it several times, people have said that, if they believe in
reincarnation, that if they came back as a cow, they want to come back at 44 Farms."
"If you have to be any cow on Earth, this would be the place to be."
"We set this up to be labor friendly.
What you're looking at right here is a lane, and this lane right here connects
this ranch east to west. We can go any pasture on this ranch, put them in that
lane, and they'll walk all the way up that lane, all the way to that big barn
in the bottom.
By themselves! That's huge, instead of with a bull whip or something,
hollering, 'Go!'
We don't need to say go, they're going to go." "What's this guy all about?"
"He's a he's in timeout right now."
"That's like elementary school back there.
Junior high's about right here, and high school's up there by the barn."
"And that's where they go to be sold. These bulls that we're coming
up on right here, these bulls will be the possibilities for the sale in October."
"These are what we call our bull condos,
because there are 140 feet long and they're 60 feet wide.
That's a huge area for a bull to stay in."
"Like a bachelor pad!" "It is exactly, and if you're in there,
you're pretty special."
"This is a BR Genesis, 44 BR Genesis.
He's the old man down here, closest to us."
"He's in retirement ,ok he'll stay here until the
day he passes.
It's a great life for him, he'd old, he's about
15 years old but now. Everything that Genesis made over the last 3 years,
all his semen went to a stud in Brazil.
Wildfire, he's about 11 years old and he's still serviceable, so he's still producing."
"Genetically this is a great specimen."
"This is a great specimen, this is kind of bull that people would definitely build
your hard around. You got all the structure and see how he's made back here?"
"All that and course he's got the factory go with it."
"This is a massive amount of muscle right here."
"I used to, I used to work security in night clubs, we had some
pretty big bouncers, but he's something else." "This boy here'll bounce ya in a hurry."
"This is the way we always end our tours, with this guy right here. He's like the
mascot."
"James thank you so much for the tour, it was really instructive.
Thank you so much for watching, for more Meat Show, click here now."